


Under My Wing

by Kirito_Potter



Category: Carry On Series - Rainbow Rowell
Genre: Canon Compliant, Fluff, Gen, Pack Dynamics, Pack Family, Post-Canon, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-15
Updated: 2019-04-15
Packaged: 2020-01-14 13:02:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18476776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kirito_Potter/pseuds/Kirito_Potter
Summary: I swallow, glancing around as subtly as I can. I've been here before, I know that, but it's just as intimidating as it was then. It's not so much the people that are intimidating, but the building they're in. Like it's trying to tell me all the things that have happened here, and while it's not a clear signal, the general message is making me sick.





	Under My Wing

**Baz**

I'm just walking home when I hear footsteps behind me. I keep walking, not letting on that I've heard him. I slow my pace some. He's catching up.

His hand brushes my sleeve.

I spin, pinning him to the ground.

“Woah, woah, woah!” His eyes are wide.

I let go of him. “Nicodemus? How in Merlin's name did you find me?”

He stands, brushing off his dingy suit. “I have my ways.”

I stand too. “ **Clean as a whistle.** ” It's completely unnecessary, we both know that. I'm showing off. “What do you want?” I ask, putting my wand away again.

“Don't worry,” he grins. “I'm not gonna hurt you.”

“That's not what I asked,” I growl.

“I just wanna take you to see something,” he says, putting his hands up in surrender. “Trust me.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Unlikely.”

He leads me to a building I remember all too well. The bar, the one I went to not too long ago. At least the memory of it is overshadowed by what happened later that night.

We step inside.

I swallow, glancing around as subtly as I can. I've been here before, I know that, but it's just as intimidating as it was then. It's not so much the people that are intimidating, but the building they're in. Like it's trying to tell me all the things that have happened here, and while it's not a clear signal, the general message is making me sick.

I stand straight as I can (I don't really do straight) and keep a neutral expression. It's what I do best-- act bored in the most batshit crazy situations.

“Hey, relax,” Nicodemus grunts beside me.

Of course. I'm used to acting calm in front of humans. This is different. A room full of people as observant as me. They can hear my heart pounding, my strained breathing. They know exactly how keyed up I am right now.

“We're not gonna hurt you, like I said.” He's smirking a little. I hate being smirked at; it means I've lost.

“I've never been calmer,” I growl. I know he knows I'm lying. I don't care.

He leads me down the stairs, into the room where Snow and I first met him. I feel a bubble of pride in my chest when I see the burn mark on the pool table.

“Hey, it's the pup!” A man laughs from the corner. He stands from his seat, raising his gin. “Mister Tyrannus Basilton Pitch.”

He winks at me and takes a long drink, watching me through the bottom of the glass. I stare him down pointedly. His green eyes don't blink, warped by the liquid. He slams his glass down again, then walks up to me.

“What are you doing here, pup?” He grins, fangs flashing. The low lights make his dirty blonde hair look brown.

“What is that supposed to mean?” I ask, voice level. “I'm not a dog.”

“He means you're young,” Nicodemus chuckles. “You're… what? Seventeen?”

“Nineteen,” I snap.

The blonde vampire snickers. “Not even two decades Turned! Now, that's a pup if I've ever seen one!”

I grit my teeth. “Nineteen chronologically. I've been Turned for about fifteen years.”

His eyebrows shoot up. “Holy shit, kid.”

“Don't call me a kid. Or a pup.” Okay, maybe I'm not so calm after all.

“Sure thing, kid,” he grins mischievously.

I bare my fangs. He bares his back, hissing loudly.

A woman stands from her booth, rolling her eyes. “Come on, now, Julian,” she sighs. “No need to make enemies.”

Julian grins. “I'm just messing with him!” He pats me on the shoulder, and I sneer. “You get it, right little buddy?”

“Don't touch me.”

He giggles.

“Julian,” the woman groans, walking up to him. She grabs his arm, long dark brown hair standing out against her paper-white skin. “Leave him alone. He's here with Nico, he deserves some respect.”

I'm about to tell her I can fight my own battles when she turns to me. “I'm Allison. I've heard plenty about you, but I wasn't here that night.”

I smirk, raising an eyebrow. “So people talk about me?”

Nico sighs. “You could say that.”

“I mean,” Julian laughs, going back for his glass, “how could we not? Spunky little thing like you, talking to Nico like you did? You're a bit of a legend.”

“Not to mention,” Allison adds, “you're telling me you've only been turned for fifteen years-- which, doing the math, means you've only been in the business for… what, four years?”

“Five.”

Julian whoops, raising his gin. “Five years! Oh, god, I can hardly even remember what I was like at five years Awakened.”

“And yet,” Allison hums, “you had the self-control to bring a human with you? Most pups that young can't even stand in the same room as a human unless they're hunting. But you seemed like friends.”

I run my fingers through my hair, pushing it back. “I lived with humans. I went to school with humans. Maybe I'm just better than most…” my lip curls, “pups.”

Julian rolls his eyes. “Oh, please. You lived with humans? You're telling me you didn't bite even one of 'em?”

A growl tears itself from my chest. “I don't feed from humans. Period.”

Nico snorts beside me, and when I turn to glare he's covering his mouth with a hand.

“It's not funny.”

He shakes his head, still smiling. “Oh, I love the morally conscious ones. You'll grow out of it.”

“I will not,” I hiss. “I wouldn't put people in danger like that.”

Julian shrugs, swirling his drink. “Whatever, the point is you're impressive now. Who cares what you do later on?”

I start to argue, but Nico gives me a look. I back down, even if I don't really trust him.

“Where's Kelley?” Nico asks the other two.

“Home,” Allison responds.

“Kelley?” I echo. “Who's--”

“Come on,” Nico says, motioning for me to follow him. “We're going.”

I shake my head. “What do you mean, we're going? You tell me you're taking me somewhere, then we leave right away?”

“This isn't the place,” he says over his shoulder, already starting up the steps. “This was just a pit stop.”

I follow him up the stairs, Julian and Allison behind me. I don't know what's happening or where we're going, but I'm more curious than worried. We pass the other pale glamorous murderers and step out into the night. Nico's blonde hair looks white under the full moon. In fact, everything about him has lost its color.

“This way,” he grunts, and instead of walking further into the city we turn down a quiet street. He leads us to a fence and pushes open the gate, and I realise we're walking to the forest.

“Hey, wait a second,” I hiss, grabbing his sleeve. “You're not leading me into the woods to murder me or something, are you?”

He laughs. “Relax. You'll be fine, gentleman's honor.” He grins, showing off his missing teeth. “I'd swear with a spell, but…”

I huff and let him lead us through the trees. Birds chirp somewhere in the distance, and I can hear what's clearly a deer shuffling through the brush. I'm tempted to stop for a snack.

As if he's read my mind, Julian laughs, “So, mister 'I don't feed from humans,’ I bet you're pretty well-acquainted with the little woodland creatures. A regular Snow White.”

I groan. “Please. I get enough of that from Snow.”

He grins. “Snow, huh? That's the human you brought, right?”

“He's none of your business.”

Julian snickers, wobbling a bit. He's drunk out of his mind, clearly. “What, worried I'll go drain your little boyfriend?”

I stop walking, turning on my heel, and hiss loudly. He jumps, genuinely startled.

“Woah, hey, it was just a joke!” He leans against the nearest tree, holding his head. “Ugh… Allison, why did you let me have that last drink?”

I feel Nico's hand on my shoulder and turn to look. “You'll have to excuse him,” he says, looking somber. “He's an idiot.”

I snort, and Julian whines behind us.

When Julian is able to walk in a straight line again, Nico continues his trek through the woods.

It's been nearly fifteen minutes when I see a break in the trees. I squint, but it's too dark to see much

“What is that?” I ask.

Nico smiles. “That,” he says, pointing, “is our house.”

He pushes some branches out of the way, and I step through.

A little wooden cottage sits in a small clearing. It has a handmade feel, like a tiny model built in someone's basement. The windows are covered by curtains, but a bit of light seeps through, and it's warm, both in that I feel warmer standing under the beam and in that the shade of yellow makes me smile. Compared to the size of my family's mansion, it's like a doghouse. Compared to the mansion's atmosphere, though, it's a much better home than that place ever was.

“Come on,” Nico calls, already at the front door.

I follow, almost in a trance. He opens the door, and I start for it, eager to see if the inside is as cozy as the outside. Then I remember.

“Uh… may I come in?”

Nico laughs. “Please do.”

I step over the threshold.

Immediately, I feel like I'm being enveloped in warmth, like a disembodied hug. I sigh.

“Kelley?” Allison calls, stepping in after me.

“Here,” a voice responds from another room.

Allison and Nico disappear down the hallway, but I'm still gobsmacked by the first room, a mix between a kitchen and living room. I hesitate before sitting on the little green couch, and I groan happily when it swallows me up like a cloud.

“Nice, huh?” Julian asks. I don't open my eyes, just nod. “It's the perfect little house for our colony.”

“Colony?” I ask, peeking out of one eye.

He grins. “Right, you don't meet vampires very often.” He flops down on the couch beside me. “We're like a family. Like… like a wolf pack, I guess.”

I hum, thinking this over. “So you live together?”

“Yup.” He burps loudly, and I cover my nose. “No strings attached, you know? We can leave any time we want. But we don't wanna.”

I'm about to ask more when I hear Allison say, “Come on! We've got a pup here. You'll want to meet him.”

She appears at the end of the hall with another girl, and they step into the room. Kelley barely looks up from her novel. She's wearing glasses, which strikes me as odd, because I always figured vampirism would fix vision problems. Her blonde hair is pulled back into a ponytail.

“Hello.”

“Hullo,” I say, offering a wave.

Nico materialises as well, walking over to the kitchen. “Tea?”

“Yes, please,” Julian grunts. “Any chance you could make it red?”

It's not hard to guess what he means by red.

“Got it,” Nico hums. “Baz? ”

“Clean,” I say, hoping he'll understand.

“Sure.”

Kelley turns a page, and we wait.

I'm still not really sure what's happening. Obviously Nico didn't bring me here just to offer tea. And the others, why did he stop to introduce me to them? I hardly know him, so what purpose does he have for bringing me to meet his family?

The kettle whistles, and I can smell Julian's cup much more clearly than mine or Nico's. I try to ignore it.

He walks over and hands me my cup. I sit up to take it from him.

“Thank you.”

“It's no problem.”

He sits on the chair across from us, smiling. “What do you think?”

I look over the lip of my cup, surprised. “Of the tea?”

He laughs. “Of the house.”

I set my cup back on its plate. “It's nice,” I admit. “Kind of… comfy.”

He nods. “It's our little safe haven.”

Allison sits as well, and, almost without thinking about it, Kelley sits in her lap, nose still buried in  _ Moby Dick _ .

“I had no idea vampires lived together like this,” I say quietly. “Like… families.”

“Colonies are pretty common,” Nico answers. “Vampires are quite social.”

I raise my cup to my lips again.

Nico watches me, eyebrows pulling together in thought. “Listen kid…. I know we don't know each other very well, and maybe you still don't trust me. But if… if you do-- trust me, that is-- I'd like to personally invite you to be part of our colony.”

I choke on the tea. I manage to regain my composure and set the cup down. “You-- what? As in  living with you?”

He shrugs. “Not really. I know you have your flat, and family, and friends. But if you ever need a place to stay, or a quick morale boost… you could stop by. And even if you don't stay with us, we'd be there for you.”

My heart is pounding. “You're serious?”

He winces. “You don't have to. Of course. But if you did want to, uh, I think you could benefit from being around others of your kind. We could take you under our proverbial wings. I mean, you're so young, and a pup like you could use a few crash courses.” He laughs a little. “And the fact that you're a pup at all means Kelley's a bit soft for you.”

I glance to Kelley, surprised. She's not even looking at me.

“It's just a suggestion,” Nico says, avoiding my eyes. “We could teach you some things. Take care of you.”

I swallow. Why am I so nervous?

“I'll consider the offer,” I say.

“Take your time,” Nico assures me. “Just know that we're here for you.”

I smile. “Thank you.”

We sit in the quiet warmth for a while longer, and I'm almost disappointed when I realise I've finished my tea.

“Well,” I say, clearing my throat, “it's been lovely, but I think I'm going to head home. I'll see you around.”

Nico nods, walking over and taking my cup. “Thank you for coming.”

“Thank you for having me,” I say easily, standing from the couch.

I wave goodbye to the others (and am unfortunately pulled into a hug by Julian, who still smells strongly of gin) before stepping out the door.

It's so much colder out here than I remember.

I push through the woods towards the city again. The moon is bright, and the animals are still calling loudly to each other.

Something scuttles into my path, and I nearly trip over it.

I stop to look at it. A small raccoon. It gazes up at me with big eyes.

I start to walk around it when a second appears, much bigger. It ignores me in favor of nuzzling the first, squeaking happily. I can see more eyes in the bush, watching the display quietly.

I turn on my heel and walk back the way I came.

Someone is laughing inside the house. Probably Julian.

I knock.

Nico pulls the door open, looking surprised. “Pup? Did you forget something?”

My chest feels warm. “Could I stay here for the night?”


End file.
